There’s no place like Laramie; With toughest stretch of season ahead of PHS, Panther football still envisioning state title

Posted 10/16/14

That road extended a little further Friday after PHS (5-1, 30 3A West Conference) picked off Worland to secure a playoff berth. But while other teams in the state will begin postseason play on Oct. 31, the Panthers’ final two regular season games …

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There’s no place like Laramie; With toughest stretch of season ahead of PHS, Panther football still envisioning state title

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No team is being overlooked. No challenge is being underestimated.

But the message resonating from the Powell High School football team is clear: Laramie is still the final exit on the road through the 2014 Panther football schedule.

That road extended a little further Friday after PHS (5-1, 30 3A West Conference) picked off Worland to secure a playoff berth. But while other teams in the state will begin postseason play on Oct. 31, the Panthers’ final two regular season games will shape the playoffs as much as any played in November.

“We know what the ultimate goal is for our football team, but we’re not looking past the challenges in front of us over the next two weeks,” PHS interim head coach Chanler Buck said. “We have two very tough teams on our schedule that are going to throw their best at us and we need to be prepared for that.”

Buck is absolutely right, as Jackson Hole (5-1, 2-1) travels to Panther Stadium on Friday and Cody (5-1, 3-0) follows suit next week. Both teams are headed for the playoffs, and both match-ups in Powell should serve as an appetizer for what PHS should expect come playoff time.

The difference between schedules for the three teams however is that Jackson and Cody will each enjoy a meeting with winless Green River over the final two weeks of the season. Once Powell finishes its regular season with two playoff-caliber games, it dives right into an actual playoff game on Halloween.

“You get this one against Jackson in the bag, and it will guarantee our first playoff game is at home,” Buck said. “But then you get another big challenge against Cody the next week. Nothing is going to be easy for our football team.”

For as much as Buck continues to stress that message, his players seem to be listening.

Panther senior quarterback and middle linebacker Carter Baxter, who has been a part of the varsity team since it began its string of three straight Class 3A state titles in 2011, echoed his coach.

“I think we know these next two games are extremely important because we want a home playoff game,” Baxter said. “We’re hungry to win and put ourselves in a position to be successful in the postseason.”

And much like the previous three seasons, for Baxter and other Panthers, that success equates to a state championship.

“I think we’re absolutely capable of winning state,” Baxter added. “But it comes down to passion and a willingness to sacrifice oneself for the bigger picture. If we can stay focused and do that, we’ll be in Laramie.”

A discussion about a state title heading into Week 7 of the regular season may seem odd, but for a large plethora of PHS players that could consider Laramie their annual November getaway, it’s expected.

“Everybody on this team believes we have what it takes to get back to Laramie,” said senior lineman Riley Stringer. “And it starts this week. We’re going after these next two games harder than we have any game this year.

“From here on out, every game we play will be the most important game we play.”

For Stringer especially, every game this fall has been a battle. After losing his father and late Panther head coach Jim Stringer tragically in July, this season has been a trying one for the young athlete, as well as his teammates and the Powell community. When Buck took over before the season, he wasn’t just getting a team, he was getting a program that had entrenched itself in victory, but was also attempting to climb back from the most adverse of situations. And despite changes at the coaching helm, player personnel and life in general, Buck has learned that this Panther team is as serious about winning a state championship as any other in PHS history.

“We know that we’re not the best team out there as far as ability. This isn’t last year’s team,” Buck said. “So what it’s going to take from the whole team, not just a couple of individuals, is sacrifice. They’re going to have to bear down each and every day.

“If they make that sacrifice ... social, emotional, physical ... to be where they want to be, yeah [a state title] can happen.”

And that attitude seems to have spread throughout the PHS program. From players like Baxter and Stringer whose names are regularly called through stadium PA speakers, to the role players like senior Heston Swenson, these Panthers understand that they’re different, and are thriving in spite of it.

“We basically lost our entire starting varsity from last year,” Swenson said. “But so many guys have stepped up and contributed and fought together, and it’s motivating all us.

“If it all comes together for us, winning another state title ... it would mean the world. That would be a storybook ending right there.”

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